WASH Field Engineer

Purpose of the Position: The WASH Field Engineer is part of the programme's technical delivery role — the qualified engineer responsible for quarterly full-system inspections, preventive and reactive maintenance, water quality field monitoring, and first-line technical problem-solving across an assigned cluster of sites. The position sits between trained community pump operators performing daily checks and specialist contractors performing manufacturer-level servicing, and is accountable for keeping systems operational, compliant, and well-documented. The Field Engineer plays a central role in the technical condition assessment of all sites in the assigned cluster.

Key Responsibilities

Technical condition assessment

• Conduct the site-by-site technical condition assessment across the assigned cluster within the first three months: pump, controller, panels, batteries, tank and tower, distribution network, valves and fittings, and civil structure.
• Participate in joint site visits with Water supply system contractor including asset register verification, documentation review, and monitoring dashboard familiarisation.
• Support country team activities: tiered water quality field testing, sanitary surveys at risk-flagged sites, GPS verification, and yield measurement at sites with missing yield records.
• Contribute technical findings which need to be confirmed by Month 3, and identify end-of-life components for replacement under the Year 1 Replacement Capex Reserve.
• Execute Tier C remediation works at named priority sites under the 48-hour remediation initiation protocol and support the portfolio-wide water quality baseline assessment within 90 days of operational kickoff.

Preventive and reactive maintenance

• Perform quarterly full-system inspections at all assigned sites: borehole yield testing, pump efficiency assessment, solar panel output measurement, battery and charge controller checks, chlorination system verification, structural inspection of concrete towers, and water committee performance review.
• Deliver reactive repairs in line with the tiered service-impact protocol: critical failures; reduced-service issues within five working days; minor issues at the next quarterly inspection.
• Diagnose faults using Water supply system contractor remote monitoring telemetry and support the shift from schedule-driven to condition-based, predictive maintenance at monitored sites.
• Escalate manufacturer-level pump servicing, borehole rehabilitation, and solar system overhauls to DWS-listed certified solar technical partners and supervise their work on site against service-level agreements.
• Prioritise Parent-site maintenance within the cluster maintenance model, recognising that Parent borehole failures cascade to hydraulically dependent Child sites
• Manage cluster-level spare parts inventories at Hub anchor locations, forecast consumables and coordinate replenishment with the Finance and Logistics Officer.

Water quality monitoring and compliance

• Conduct monthly water quality field testing at all assigned sites using portable field kits and maintain calibration of field instruments.
• Collect and dispatch quarterly bacteriological samples (E. coli, total coliforms) to SANAS-accredited laboratories and apply elevated (monthly) sampling frequency at sites until restored.
• Verify automated inline chlorination performance (0.2–0.5 mg/L free chlorine residual at the most distant standpipe) and adjust dosing as required.
• Maintain water quality records in the programme database, flag non-compliance against SANS 241:2015 immediately, and initiate corrective action plans in coordination with the WASH Programme Manager.

Community technical capacity building

• Train and mentor community pump operators in daily system checks, monthly pump performance logging, and water quality field testing, cross-referencing operator logs with remote monitoring telemetry.
• Deliver pump-attendant training cohorts and support the certification pathway from community operator toward established standard for community-hired technicians.
• Support Water Management Committees with technical inputs to O&M planning, tariff-setting consultations and Capital Sinking Fund calibration against component lifecycles (5/7/10/20 years).
• Contribute technical content to site-level O&M manuals any other documentation.

Documentation, reporting and coordination

• Complete site inspection reports, maintenance job cards, and asset register updates in the field management system after every visit.
• Contribute technical data to monthly cluster reports, the MEAL dashboard, and quarterly donor reports, in coordination with the DMEAL team.
• Coordinate site visit scheduling with Community Mobilisation Officers so that maintenance activities are communicated to and coordinated with communities.
• Support the pump overhaul cycle for 2018-vintage systems and solar system overhauls for remaining vintage systems

Qualifications and Experience:

Essential

• Bachelor's degree or national diploma in Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, or Water Engineering, or a closely related engineering field.
• Registration with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) as a Candidate Engineer or Candidate Engineering Technologist (or eligibility to register); DWS registration/recognition as applicable.
• Minimum three (3) years of hands‑on experience in the operation and maintenance of rural water supply systems, with demonstrable experience on solar-powered pumping systems (solar-direct submersible pumps, PV arrays, MPPT controllers, battery systems).
• Working knowledge of water quality monitoring and SANS 241:2015 requirements, including use of portable field test kits and bacteriological sampling protocols.
• Practical fault-diagnosis and repair skills across electromechanical, hydraulic, and basic civil components of borehole-based water systems.
• Valid driver's license (Code B minimum; Code C1 an advantage) and willingness to travel extensively (up to 75%) to remote rural sites, including overnight stays

Desirable

• Grundfos certification or documented experience servicing Grundfos SQFlex or equivalent solar submersible pump fleets.
• Experience with remote monitoring/telemetry platforms and condition-based (predictive) maintenance approaches.
• Experience training community-based operators or artisans.
• Familiarity with borehole yield testing, sanitary survey methodology, and inline chlorination systems.
• Prior experience on donor-funded WASH programmes in the NGO/development sector.
• Proficiency in the dominant language of the assigned cluster (IsiZulu, Sepedi, or Siswati) in addition to English.

Competencies

• Strong practical problem‑solving under field conditions with limited supervision.
• Disciplined documentation and data‑recording habits — inspection reports, job cards, water quality logs.
• Safety‑conscious working practices around electrical, confined‑space, and working‑at‑height hazards.
• Respectful, patient engagement with rural communities and community operators, consistent with the companies community‑ownership ethos.
• Planning and route‑management skills for multi‑site inspection circuits across a dispersed portfolio.

Key Working Relationships

• Internal: WASH Programme Manager (SA), WASH Specialist, Civil Engineer, fellow Field Engineers (including the floating engineer), Community Mobilisation Officers, DMEAL team, Finance and Logistics Officer, Global WASH Technical Advisor (GSO).
• External: community pump operators and Water Management Committees, DWS-listed certified solar technical partners Mvula Borehole Drilling (Pty) Ltd, SANAS-accredited laboratories, Water Services Authorities, and Water supply system technical counterparts.

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